Financial Wellbeing Graduate

Co-operative Bank plc.; Manchester; Hybrid; GBP 29,000 - GBP 34,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading UK financial institution is offering a Graduate Programme aimed at supporting vulnerable customers through various placements across departments. This role provides an opportunity to develop leadership skills while addressing customer needs in financial difficulty, ensuring a compassionate service. Candidates should have a 2:1 degree or above and the right to work in the UK. The programme starts on 7th September 2026 with a starting salary of £29,500, offering a hybrid working model in Manchester.

Benefits

Comprehensive training and mentoring

Access to personal development plans

Qualifications

• Candidates must be on course for, or have achieved a 2:1 degree or above.
• Must have the eligibility to work in the UK.

Responsibilities

• Support operational teams assisting vulnerable customers.
• Contribute to projects enhancing service design.
• Analyze vulnerability trends and customer behaviors.

Skills

Communication skills

Commercial thinking

Analytical skills

Education

2:1 degree or above in any discipline

2:2 degree with a Masters

Job description

Graduate Programme 2026

Financial Wellbeing graduate (2 years)

The Financial Wellbeing function plays a crucial role in ensuring that customers at risk of or already experiencing financial difficulty or personal vulnerability receive the right support, at the right time, delivered with empathy and expertise. As a Graduate, you’ll gain hands‑on exposure to how we identify, understand, and support vulnerable customers across our Digital channels, Branch Network, Contact Centre, Mortgage Operations and within our specialist teams across Financial Difficulty, Vulnerability Strategy and Customer Operations.

This breadth ensures you not only understand how each area responds to customer needs, but also how they work together to deliver a consistent, compassionate, and inclusive service.

Across your placement rotations, you’ll have the opportunity to contribute to specialist roles and play an active part in projects focused on improving outcomes for vulnerable customers. You’ll work alongside teams who analyse vulnerability trends, develop data‑led insight, and shape our enterprise approach to vulnerability and financial difficulty.

We are looking for someone with leadership ambitions and a passion for improving experiences for customers who need our support most. You’ll be proactive, able to work at pace, and eager to learn how to blend regulatory expectations, customer insight and operational delivery into meaningful and sustainable improvements. This is an exciting time to join the Vulnerability Support function—ideal for someone who wants to make a genuine impact and help shape the future of our vulnerability strategy.

You’ll get first-hand experience from several teams on your placements, which could include working on:

• Supporting operational teams who assist customers in financial difficulty or facing vulnerable circumstances, gaining insight into case handling and customer centred decision making.
• Contributing to vulnerability related projects that enhance colleague capability, improve service design, or strengthen organisational controls and processes.
• Working with data specialists to analyse vulnerability trends, customer behaviours and operational performance to inform strategy development.
• Assisting in the design and delivery of colleague training, coaching and tools that support consistent and empathetic conversations with vulnerable customers.
• Exposure to enterprise wide vulnerability governance, including policy development, risk assessment and alignment with regulatory expectations.
• Understanding how digital journeys, branch interactions and contact centre processes identify and support vulnerability, and recommending improvements

Graduate Programme: Key Information

• Programme Commences: 7th September 2026
• Programme Duration: 2 years
• Starting Salary: £29,500
• Location: Manchester/ Hybrid- you will also need to travel to Coventry when required.
• Applications: Please note we may withdraw this vacancy once sufficient applications have been reached.

Your placements

Placements will vary depending on business needs at the time as well as being tailored to your areas of interest.Each placement is designed to develop your commercial and strategic thinking, negotiation and influencing skills and understanding of how our Bank works. Our two and three year Graduate schemes provide a structured development programme.You’ll develop key leadership skills and competencies and gain knowledge and experience through a series of placements across your chosen business area.

Fantastic support

There’s much more to our graduate programmes than on-the-job experience. We’ll give you all of the tools we can to drive your career and develop you as a person. You’ll have access to all the support you need, but the ultimate responsibility for shaping your development will be yours.Your Business Sponsor will review and appraise your performance, providing feedback and coaching at every step of the way to ensure your success and personal growth.We’ll also assign you a senior leader mentor and work with you on a personal development plan to draw together technical training and personal and professional learning to help you grow your skills and gain a relevant apprenticeship.

Are you made of the right stuff?

We’re looking for commercial thinkers with real enthusiasm, energy and potential. Level headed with a mind full of bright ideas, you’ll crave responsibility and have the drive to see things through from start to finish. A great communicator who can connect with anyone – whoever they are, you’ll enjoy taking on new challenges and creating and developing new products and ideas that will shape the future of banking.

Graduate Programme: Application Process

What you’ll need

Above all you must be passionate about looking at things differently to shape the future of banking.

Entry Requirements:

• On course for, or have achieved a 2:1 degree or above in any discipline or a 2:2 degree with a Masters
• Eligibility to work in the UK

Our assessment process

We’ve designed our process so we can get to know each other better along the way. We’ll ask you to participate in:

• Online application and screening
• Video Interview
• Assessment Centre – weeks commencing 23rd-27th March (In person, located at our HQ in Manchester)
• Final stakeholder interview

We can only consider candidates with the right to work in the UK at this time.

Our Bank is passionate and committed to continuing to create a diverse workforce and an inclusive environment where all colleagues can fulfil their potential.

At the beginning of the year, The Co-operative Bank officially became part of the Coventry Building Society Group. Together, we have shared values and an ethical approach towards our members, customers and colleagues.

If you require more information or this document in a different format, please contact [e-mail]

As a reputable employer regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, all offers of employment for this role are subject to a series of background checks, including criminal (DBS) and financial checks.

Rated by Morningstar Sustainalytics in the Regional Banks sub-industry with a score of 11.2 as of 14 January 2025.